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Publishers Abstract:
Not all presidential visits are equally welcome, and an unfortunate trip can sometimes turn into a serious political and diplomatic affair and fester into a dispute between two Member States before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The case at hand, concerning the free movement of a very "special" EU citizen -- the president of Hungary -- formed a brew of political issues mixed with legal ones, such as the status of EU citizens, the scope of EU law, and the relationship between EU law and international law. The exchanges continued until, on Oct 12, 2009, the Hungarian Government requested the European Commission to initiate infringement proceedings against the Slovak Republic under Article 258 of the TFEU for breach of Article 21 TFEU and Directive 2004/38. The Commission replied that under international law, a Member State retains the right to refuse access to another Member State's head of State, but not when the latter travels as a private citizen.
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